Hotel Fire Alarms: When Should It Be Checked

The last thing your guests want is to hear the hotel fire alarm and have to escape a building they’re unfamiliar with. It’s also the last thing you want, If a fire breaks out in your hotel and the fire alarm didn’t go off. It puts dozens of people’s lives at risk (especially sleeping guests) and can damage your business irreparably, thus entails why Hotel Fire Alarms are necessary and fire protection in hotels to be top of the line.

Australian Standards requires you to have fire safety inspection and assess fire risks in your hotel. You must implement adequate control measures to prevent fires from starting and enable people to evacuate safely if one does happen. Australian Standards specify installation procedures and the correct location of fire extinguishers, among other things, and state that all fire equipment and fire alarm systems are to be regularly tested, serviced and maintained.

All hotels must legally have fire detection and alarm systems in place. Adequate manual call points should be installed in obvious locations, which enable staff or guests to easily activate them if they discover a fire. Check smoke detectors regularly – at least once a month – and test manual call points during working hours once a week. Ensure alarms are loud enough to wake sleeping guests: alarms near the bed head should be around 75dB. It is absolutely vital that guests wake up immediately during a fire. People inhale smoke while asleep without noticing, which is often fatal if they don’t wake up in time.

Hotel Fire Alarm Requirements

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To comply with the Regulations, owners must ensure that the Fire alarm(s):

are in accordance with the National Construction Code applicable at the time of installation of the alarms;

are not more than 10 years old at the time of the transfer of ownership, or making the dwelling available for rent or hire;

are in working order; and

are permanently connected to consumer mains power (hard-wired).

Fire alarm location

The location of Hotel Fire alarms must be in accordance with the NCC applicable at the time of installation of the alarms. The number of Fire alarms to be installed depends on the classification of the dwelling and its general layout and size.

Hotel Fire alarms must be installed on or near the ceiling: (a) in every bedroom; and (b) in every corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, or if there is no corridor or hallway, in an area between the bedrooms and the remainder of the building; and (c) on each other storey, even if those storeys consist only of car parking, bathrooms, laundries and the like.

The favoured location for Fire alarms on other storeys (not containing bedrooms) is in the path of travel that people will most likely take to evacuate the building.

For Hotel Fire alarms to remain in working order they should be tested and maintained

Regularly. Recommends maintenance routine:

Testing once per month to ensure the battery and the alarm sounder are operating.

Check the Fire alarm for any build-up of dust and cobwebs and clean with a vacuum cleaner at least every six months. Vacuum with a soft brush attachment around the Fire alarm vents.

Use a surface insect spray around the Fire alarm to prevent insects nesting inside.

Replacing batteries annually

Fire alarms should never be painted.

Fire kills, and it usually takes victims of negligence. But if you apply sufficient fire safety measures in your hotel, you can prevent tragedy.